@lalitk Interesting. I've never heard of that one. Doing a quick look, it's quite a bit over budget. Looking to stay around the $4500 mark at max with a little wiggle room here and there.
WhestTHREE signature phono pre vs. ModWright PH 9.0X
I've mostly got my phono preamp upgrade down to a shortlist shootout choice between the WhestTHREE and the ModWright PH 9.0X. They're pretty much at the same price point (the MW is ~$300 more than the whest, give or take).
What I listen to mostly: Jazz & Jazz Fusion primarily (I do have things from many other genres, but want to tune my system to Jazz since that's 95% of my listening on vinyl).
What I like: wide soundstage, incredible mid-range, detail, some warmth
What I don't like: clinical!
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There are a lot of passionate Whest owners out there all over forums raving about them, but I've also seen people mention that they can be a little on the clinical side.
The modwright has less hands-on info out there that I could find, but the few things I could find review it very highly.
If owners of either could comment on their experience and some objective pros / cons of either, it would be helpful!
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I did have someone recommend the Gold note PH10 to me some time ago, and while it is at a lower price point, I've seen a lot of mixed reviews.
Showing 8 responses by mmcgill829
@paulietunes I agree. I have been given some good recommendations that weren't even on my radar in the past. There's so much gear out there, especially in the mid-range price points. @audiosaurusrex Thanks for the info about the modwright. Pretty much falls in line with what I've been reading elsewhere with great dynamics and soundstage. Good to know that it performs really well in the midrange (which is very important for me since that tends to be the make or break when it comes to Jazz, at least). It's interesting you mention the Umami - was debating upgrading to that cartridge! How easy is it to change the tubes in it? Is it as simple as just removing the cover and popping them in and out? |
@blisshifi @laynes Thank you both! That is valuable feedback. I haven't really see any pop up on the used market, so I assumed it either wasn't very popular at all, or people love them and don't want to get rid of them to upgrade very often! |
@rsf507 i don't think so. I didn't see it there either. Still some places selling it online, but it may be discontinued. There doesn't seem to be a replacement in that price category anymore either with a stand alone power supply from them. |
@blisshifi Thanks for those recommendations! I'll probably look into experimenting with some upgrades in the future. What sort of power cables do you recommend? @davehg Congrats! I'm definitely loving it. I'm looking forward to experimenting with some different tubes at some point myself, but enjoying as-is as well. I'm looking into the Umami red currently, but that will probably be my last upgrade after I swap out my speakers and amp (I have speakers being built now, and then amp to come after), so it's a little ways down the line for me. I really like the Hana ML I have now, so I can only imagine the Umami will likely take it to the next level once I have everything else dialed in. |
@davehg Thanks for the update and great info! I still havent decided on whether to go for an umami red or etsuro cobalt. My hesitancy around it is mostly because I have trouble justifying paying big bucks on a cartridge that will just have to get replaced in a year or two of use. The 4-6k price tags on these is a bit hard to swallow with this in mind. We'll see! I've been a bit distracted lately with getting my digital front end set up - and since October of last year I've replaced my speakers, amplification, added an entire digital set (streamer + dac), and am working on replacing cables. yeesh! |